Showing posts with label Sanctification. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanctification. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Worry as Sin
A good friend of mine has posted an excellent series of blog entries on the subject of worry.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Excellent Counseling Article!
Check out this great article about counseling (which has implications for the entire Christian life) here. A little controversial...
Saturday, May 19, 2007
New Affections!
I got this excellent Thomas Chalmers quote from Piper's book, Future Grace:
"There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world-either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. My purpose it to show that from the constitution of our nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and ineffectual, and that the latter method will alone suffice for the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection that domineers over it."
So let us preach and counsel, yes, against sin and wickedness but also for the beauty and excellence of God and all the he is for us in Christ. Let us emphasize the greatness of God over the futility of the world.
"There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world-either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. My purpose it to show that from the constitution of our nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and ineffectual, and that the latter method will alone suffice for the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection that domineers over it."
So let us preach and counsel, yes, against sin and wickedness but also for the beauty and excellence of God and all the he is for us in Christ. Let us emphasize the greatness of God over the futility of the world.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
God Should be Central in all of Life
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
I couldn't help but think of the very obvious and intended application for parents in these verses. One of the main implications that struck me was the fact that Biblical Christianity and Biblical parenting are not compartmentalized. You should not have the Bible as your guide and the topic of discussion only in Sunday school and at church. Here the Bible is to be the topic "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." We should be teaching our children, not only at set times for catechism and family devotions but also in the milieu of life. They should know that the word of God and the God of the word are relevant and supreme in all realms of life, not just at church on Sunday.
I couldn't help but think of the very obvious and intended application for parents in these verses. One of the main implications that struck me was the fact that Biblical Christianity and Biblical parenting are not compartmentalized. You should not have the Bible as your guide and the topic of discussion only in Sunday school and at church. Here the Bible is to be the topic "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." We should be teaching our children, not only at set times for catechism and family devotions but also in the milieu of life. They should know that the word of God and the God of the word are relevant and supreme in all realms of life, not just at church on Sunday.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Justification and Sanctification
A friend of mine asked about the relationship between justification and sanctification. Here's how I responded. There is so much more that could be said since this is pretty much what the Christian life is all about.
"Hey, I've been thinking about this some lately. I was talking about it with Tyler the other night. In justification, we get two things. Both are suited perfectly to the needs of the sinner. The sinner is in the hole, so to speak. He/she has a bad record before God. Having lived a life that has "fallen short", we have done tons of bad things are exposed to the just wrath of God because of those sins. That's one problem - a sinful record. The other problem is the lack of righteousness. Even if we didn't have the bad record, we would then only be back at square one. We still wouldn't have the positive side - a righteousness. So the sinner stands condemend because he has sinned (the negative) and he lacks righteousness (the positive). This is the very bad news that makes the gospel very good news. Christ died to grant forgiveness for sins (the negative) and He lived the perfect life to grant the righteousness (the positive). When the sinner attaches himself to Christ by grace through faith, he/she is then counted to have lived Christ's perfect life of obedience. The Father also counts Christ to have lived the sinners wicked life. This is what happened at the cross - double imputation. John MacArthur once said in a sermon, "God treated Christ like He lived your life so that He could treat you like you lived His." Unbelievable! Except by grace, then it becomes believable. How does justification relate to sanctification. One will not happen without the other. Sanctification will not happen unless justification already has. Those who have been justified will be sanctified and will progressinvely become more Christlike. Conversely, it is impossible for justification to happen without sanctification. In other words, Christians will be sanctified. This is why the Bible can say things like these without teaching works-based salvation:
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
According to this verse, we will not go to heaven if we are not sanctified. How do we reconciled this with Romans 5, which says that we are justified bny faith and Ephesians 2:8-9 which says that we are saved by grace through faith? It reconciles because those who are saved by grace through faith will also be sanctified. So there will be no Christians who are not sanctified. All real Christians will be progressively sanctified. This is consistent with other verses that seem to say the same thing. Compare Romans 8:13 and 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. One of the questions is Tyler's catechism book, in speaking of the sinful heart that each of us has from birth, asks this question:
Can you go to heaven with this sinful nature?
Answer: No, my heart must be changed before I can be fit for heaven. Our hearts must be fit for heaven. My father in-law had a book in his study over Thanksgiving that was titled, "No holiness, no heaven." Good title! Piper says that the only sin that can be overcome is a forgiven sin. Thanks for the discussion."
Your thoughts?
"Hey, I've been thinking about this some lately. I was talking about it with Tyler the other night. In justification, we get two things. Both are suited perfectly to the needs of the sinner. The sinner is in the hole, so to speak. He/she has a bad record before God. Having lived a life that has "fallen short", we have done tons of bad things are exposed to the just wrath of God because of those sins. That's one problem - a sinful record. The other problem is the lack of righteousness. Even if we didn't have the bad record, we would then only be back at square one. We still wouldn't have the positive side - a righteousness. So the sinner stands condemend because he has sinned (the negative) and he lacks righteousness (the positive). This is the very bad news that makes the gospel very good news. Christ died to grant forgiveness for sins (the negative) and He lived the perfect life to grant the righteousness (the positive). When the sinner attaches himself to Christ by grace through faith, he/she is then counted to have lived Christ's perfect life of obedience. The Father also counts Christ to have lived the sinners wicked life. This is what happened at the cross - double imputation. John MacArthur once said in a sermon, "God treated Christ like He lived your life so that He could treat you like you lived His." Unbelievable! Except by grace, then it becomes believable. How does justification relate to sanctification. One will not happen without the other. Sanctification will not happen unless justification already has. Those who have been justified will be sanctified and will progressinvely become more Christlike. Conversely, it is impossible for justification to happen without sanctification. In other words, Christians will be sanctified. This is why the Bible can say things like these without teaching works-based salvation:
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
According to this verse, we will not go to heaven if we are not sanctified. How do we reconciled this with Romans 5, which says that we are justified bny faith and Ephesians 2:8-9 which says that we are saved by grace through faith? It reconciles because those who are saved by grace through faith will also be sanctified. So there will be no Christians who are not sanctified. All real Christians will be progressively sanctified. This is consistent with other verses that seem to say the same thing. Compare Romans 8:13 and 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. One of the questions is Tyler's catechism book, in speaking of the sinful heart that each of us has from birth, asks this question:
Can you go to heaven with this sinful nature?
Answer: No, my heart must be changed before I can be fit for heaven. Our hearts must be fit for heaven. My father in-law had a book in his study over Thanksgiving that was titled, "No holiness, no heaven." Good title! Piper says that the only sin that can be overcome is a forgiven sin. Thanks for the discussion."
Your thoughts?
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